Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-10-28

kQeLlal LII ~ ISd AOuSC!
The girl hung her head, but did not
answer. Had he been merely scornful at
her loss of caste, she could be defiant; but
he was evidently sorry for her.
"Why have you done this, Niya?" the
young man continued reproachfully
"You were not in poverty; you were hap
py; why, then, did you leave home for
such an occupation as this?"
Niya looked at the mats silently. Her
lip quivered, the blush that mounted from
her throat to her forehead faded away,
pursued by deadly paleness, and her
limbs trembled so much that she dropped
on the ground and hid her face in her
broad sleeves.
An old man entored from the veranda,
and, after bowling to fampei, deserted
the girl motionless, with her head leaning
against a partition.
ssHowp' he CRIED angrily, "moping in
this way with the house full of guests
troublesome fellows, too, like those sam
urai who curse and threaten if they are
delayed but one moment. Up this in
slant, I say, CT 1 shall use my whip on
your shOuldersp'
Niya seemed glad to escape from KAN
,, pei's questions, and she Withdrew, fol-
lowed by the master of the house
Drawing the tobacco stand toward him
Kampei filled and Lit his pipe, and while
smoking puzzled himself in endeavoring
to explain Niya's presence there. The
singing in the adjoining chamber grew
more boisterous, and sometimes Kampei
| heard the clash of swords, the voices of
| the frightened attendants, and the en-
treaties of the proprietor. 1t all Jared on
the young mans feelings, and were it
possible he would have left the place.
But there were only miserable villages
between the chaya and MOrioka, and,
apart from his fatigue, the way was
lonely and dangerous on account OF rob-
bers.
He strolled to the back of the inn, and
pursued little tagged path toward a
rustic summer house erected on an artl-
fetal mound. A slight railing on either
side divided the path from the garden,
where the summer chrysanthemums, the
peonies and pinks were bursting into
| bloom, while the camellia, azalea and
| primrose gave forth their expiring strength
| in a few delicate flowers. Some late
violets peeped timidly from the shadow of
q huge rock; around the lattice work of
the summer house vine tendrils struggled
with dainty clematis, and cherry blossoms,
| from which the house was named, bloomed
| in gay profusion everywhere.
Sitting there in the silence of the even
, ing the soft landscape spread out beneath
| him, the odor of the garden mounting to
| the arbor, Kampei almost forgot his re-
| cent annoyance and INDUCED i'll pleasant
| dreams of the future. Dusk was advanc-
| ing, when he was startled by seeing Niya,
| who had approached noiselessly, standing
| in the doorway. She uttered little
fn6i1,u tho c11nnar hOI1Sa OccIl-
| pied, and was about to go away, when
| Kampei recalled her and desired her in
| harsh voice to sit down. She obeyed, the
| blood meanwhile mounting Indignantly to
| her forehead; and when Kampei looked
1 severely at her she hastily brushed away
| the traces of recent tears and said def
antly:
ssFrown not thus, good Kampei l am
not O-Suba, your betrothed; I am only
| Niya Are not my parents dead? And
who, then, will dare to reprove me it do
! what / please? Go to Morioka, Kampei,
and let you and OSuba forget the
wretched Niya, who will never return to
| her home"
| She rose to her feet while speaking and
| was about to leave when Kampei again
| stopped her and said sorrowfully:
| stYou have chosen mean calling that
| your parents would have rejected as vul-
gar and disgraceful; their spirits are dis
pleased, and you can no more visit their
tombs or pray before the god shelf with
peaceful mind There was time that L
thought loved Niya more than O-Suba,
and now-yah, yahr' he continued scorn-
fully, after pause, 'get away, you low
creature! You are no longer anything to
me but the miserable tea house attend
antI'
He turned away from her with a gesture
of anger. She clasped her hands to her
side and staggered against the frail wood
work, making the whole structure
tremble; then, looking at him wildly, she
uttered a heartbroken cry and rushed
down the path, past the house and across
the broad road.
Kampei followed the girl with his eyes.
and, when he saw her climb the bank on
| the roadside and spring into the river flow
ing slowly beyond, he muttered to himself:
s'The death of a dog is good enough for
one with so mean soulF'
But better thoughts quickly came, and
he determined to try and save her.
| Niya rose to the surface of the water,
and her clothing buoyed her for some mo-
ments. She did not struggle, but kept her
| hands thrust into the sleeves of her robe.
! She sank again in the smooth current, and
as her face became buried her fortitude
| deserted her, and she threw up her arms
with stifled Shrek
The bubbles that marked the spot where
she sank were almost gone when kampel
reached the bank, Invested OF his sandals
and outer garments He sprang into the
stream and succeeded in Selling the
drowning girl, who, though nearly in
L., ,~l,t oh q
neck, hindering his movements. Kampei,
finding the place shallow, put bis feet
upon the ground, but to his terror they
sank into deep mud, and he felt the water
gradually rising upon him. He strained
eyery muscle, but the water still mounted
until they were both covered. A roar as
of thunder filled his ears, and his head
seemed about to burst, but he managed to
preserve some GOODNESS. By a violent
effort he loosened Niya's frantic embrace,
and, still grasping her clothing, struggled
out of the mud and gained a firm foothold,
exhausted and gasping for breath.
Though his strength was almost gone
and his knees tottered he held Niya to
his breast, looking anxiously into her
face Her eyes were closed, and her head
fell heavily on his arm, the hair, from
which the fastenings were gone, falling
over his shoulder in a thick mass and
floating ON the stream.
The incident had been observed from
the chaya and a number of men now
stood on the bank, by whose aid the two
were soon placed in safety. When Kam-
pei had seen the girl restored to anima-
ton and given in charge of the female
servants, he was forced to join the other
guests, by whom he was clapped on the
shoulders and praised as a hero.
He slept soundly until awoke by the
harsh sound of the shutters being moved
in their grooves and by the sunlight
pouring in through the semi transparent
screens Being DESTROYS of avoiding Niya
he did not wait for breakfast, but set out
at once.
/ Kampei was overjoyed on reaching
home to find his parents well and happy,
their only trouble since his departure
having been that caused by the avarice of
their landlord. He was panied to hear of
O-Suba's unfeeling words on the occasion
of his mothers visit to the cottage, and
the old lady's story made it evident that
the subsequent sending of the money was
chiefly due to Niya's intercession. Then
it occurred to him that the girls present
position might be owing to quarrel with
her relative on this very subject, and the